Forever 3

Those pair of eyes. HIS eyes…

He immediately sat up on the bed and turned off the alarm clock. A post-it note was stuck on the clock saying '5am: study chapter 3'.

The thick pile of medicine books were scattered on the floor. His eyes were still wet from his tears.

Somehow he can't forget those light brown eyes filled with emotions at one moment and distant the next. However, contrary to that dream of his, he can't bear to look at those eyes. The feeling of suffocation always arises.

He sighed. Ever since he was a child, he had always dreamed of those eyes. He hoped it would disappear along with the emotions carried with it but instead, it grew more vivid as the years passed by.

Every night he can't help thinking about the owner of those eyes. And every time he thinks of them, a soft voice repeats itself in his head.

'Wherever you are right now, I only wish you well. Whatever you are doing right now, I hope you excel. Whoever you are with right now, I sincerely pray they will treat you well and make you happy'.

He sighed again and laughed at himself. Here I am getting melancholic on a complete stranger again. He calmed himself with a glass of water and went back to bed.

He picked up a book and started reading. People always said he was such a bookworm. They always asked him to stop and relax a little, to forget about books and start getting a life outside these pages. Even his parents would beg him to take a break every once in a while.

The truth is, he doesn't study just because he wants to, he studies to distract himself from thinking about those eyes. It may sound silly but it's the truth. He has never told anyone about it. They wouldn't understand.

~+~2 weeks after

Saturday was scheduled for watching a movie with Alice at 5pm. This morning Alice was woken up early because of a group chat video call. So she dragged Chris out of bed and brought him to the coffee shop.

"I swear to God C, if you make me repeat myself again I'm drowning you—"

"Heard you." Chris leisurely sipped his coffee while looking at the infuriated Alice.

"Really now. Come on tell me, what did you hear?" Alice slowly spoke each word through gritted teeth.

"You swearing to God." A small smile was on Chris' lips as he drank the coffee. Alice stared daggers at Chris one last time and focused on her phone as she ate. Her group chat notiffs kept ringing which made her curious.

Apparently the girls from her faculty were discussing who they find attractive in school. One picture caught her eye with the caption of:

"my friend from the computer science course gave me a pic of her classmate. he is so fine. I mean, LOOK AT HIS SKIN, HIS EYES, HIS LIPS!!! And those brows! mama I found your son-in-law T^T"

It was Chris.

Alice snorted and immediately went to sit by Chris' side and showed him the picture.

"The girls from the medicine faculty are talking about you. They kept saying your looks can rival the 'Beasts'. If you come across them don't expect me to come drag them away for you. Deal with it yourself."

"Do I look like an animal?" Chris sounded irritated being compared to 'Beasts'.

"C, you're missing the point. Forget it." Alice rolled her eyes. "Anyway, the 'Beasts' thing that I've mentioned aren't about animals. It's the name of a squad idiot."

"And so?" Chris asked.

"Apparently each member is associated with a sacred animal. The azure dragon is River Suarez, the vermillion bird is Bass Ramos, the white tiger is Off Tuan, and the black tortoise is Isaac Rodgriguez. I'll find a picture of them."

Chris let out a snicker hearing the explanation, clearly not impressed.

"Alice Alice, hey!" Alice turned around to the voice and saw her seatmate walking towards their table.

"I didn't think we would see each other here. Omg is that the beasts? Did you find somebody you like there? I could help you. Just tell me the name. Don't be shy. We are friends. Go on, spill." The girl's non stop chatter annoyed Chris. He looked at Alice questioningly. Alice just shook her head and gestured 'I'm with someone' to the girl towards Chris.

As her seatmate sat down, shock was written all over her face and no voice came out. Mouth hanging wide open, her eyes darted back and forth between Alice and Chris, only to end her actions by staring at the boy.

"Oh. My. GOD! It's you! From the College of Engineering! Oh my. We haven't met before but I know you. Well I don't exactly know you personally but I know your name. Well that doesn't count as knowing but I'm —"

Alice cut her off. "The one who sent your picture."

The girl blushed at the thought of being caught. "Well, I'm Samantha Montecillo. I'm a friend of Alice. It's so nice to finally meet you. I never expected I'd ever meet you or talk to you but oh my god. You look even more handsome in person. I love your skin. It's so white and—"

"Chris Liu." Chris nodded and went back to his phone.

"Alice, I heard you got sick. I actually came here to visit a branch of our company. My family owns a pharmaceutical company. I could give you a discount. How are you?" Samantha hurriedly checked Alice's temperature.

"Get off. I am not sick." Alice held off Samantha's hands. Chris simply ignored them as they continued bickering.

Upon hearing the words 'pharmaceutical company' a strange sense of familiarity overcame Chris. It was like dejavu. A scene suddenly flashed by his eyes at that moment.

—

"Why are you here?" Luo Tang looked at the approaching Zhou Yuan. Zhou Yuan was on a business trip for the last week and was expected to end the trip until the next week.

"Call me Yuan gege and I'll tell you." Zhou Yuan winked at Luo Tang while softly caressing his hair. Luo Tang shrugged off Zhou Yuan's hand and went back to play the piano.

Zhou Yuan chuckled softly. "You really are like a cat, Tangtang. My cute feisty cat."

As Luo Tang resumed playing, Zhou Yuan noticed Luo Tang's fingers becoming more aggressive in the keys. Zhou Yuan chuckled and sat beside Luo Tang.

"Get out." In what way do I look like a cat, idiot, Luo Tang thought. In Zhou Yuan's eyes, Luo Tang looked very cute while sulking. He wanted to bask in more of Luo Tang's attention but with Luo Tang ignoring him? It was the exact opposite of what he wanted. So he immediately gave in.

"My father wants me to inherit the company. Our pharmaceutical company is well known and large but my father seems too tired to handle it. He wants to retire. I was inspecting the branches within this area. At first I didn't want to inherit the company, but now I have accepted it for our future. Tangtang, if you ever get sick or hurt, I will provide you all the best medicines I can find. I will never let any harm come to you." Zhou Yuan slowly engulfed Luo Tang with a hug and rested his chin on Luo Tang's shoulder while explaining.

Seeing as Luo Tang had no intention to stop, Zhou Yuan tightened his hold on Luo Tang.

"Didn't you miss me?" Zhou Yuan sadly whispered against Luo Tang's ear. Luo Tang stopped playing and leaned back on Zhou Yuan's embrace. Zhou Yuan took this opportunity and intertwined both their fingers.

"What do you want?" Luo Tang asked in a small voice. A small smile was present on his lips.

"Call me Yuan gege, Tangtang." Zhou Yuan snuggled his face at the crook of Luo Tang's neck.

"No, get off. I'm practicing." Luo Tang broke free from Zhou Yuan's embrace. Luo Tang glanced at Zhou Yuan whose expression was that of disappointment. Gently, he pressed the piano keys and Zhou Yuan's expression immediately perked up. Luo Tang was playing his favorite piece, Chopin's Nocturne Op.9 No.2.

In the middle of playing, Luo Tang's eyes met with Zhou Yuan. A soft smile was on Zhou Yuan's lips. A sense of satisfaction washed over Luo Tang and unconsciously, he pressed the keys gentler.

—

"C? C!" Chris was met with a worried Alice gently wiping his face with a tissue.

"Lissie?" Only then did Chris realize his cheeks felt wet.

"So you still remember me. I've been calling you for a while. Here," Alice thrusted the tissue on Chris' hands and went back to her seat. "Use this. It's lunch time already. Let's go eat."

"Lissie." Chris called Alice.

"What?"

"You sure you're hungry?" Chris gestured to the 3 empty plates on the table.

"Either you come with me or I'm leaving you." Alice's eyes narrowed at Chris.

"Alright, alright. I'm coming." Chris abruptly stood up and left with Alice.